Diego Costa and Angel Di Maria nominated for the Ballon d'Or but no place for Luis Suarez

MISSING LINK: Suarez has been omitted from the list for political reasons [GETTY]

The list, which will be whittled down to the one player deemed to be the world's best, has no Englishmen but five Premier League players on it, though there is no place for the division's leading scorer from last season.

Twenty-seven-year-old Suarez scored 31 goals for Liverpool as they narrowly missed out on the English title, but his season ended in controversy after he bit Italy's Giorgio Chiellini while playing for Uruguay at the World Cup.

He was served with a fourth-month ban by FIFA as a consequence - a suspension which ended when he made his Barcelona debut against Real Madrid on Saturday - and but for that he would surely have made the list and been a strong contender.

As it is Barcelona forward Lionel Messi and his old foe and the current Ballon D'or holder Cristiano Ronaldo are sure to battle it out once more.

Ronaldo's stunning form in 2014 puts him down as the clear favourite - he guided Real Madrid to the Champions League title in May and has 21 goals in 14 appearances so far this season.

Real Madrid team-mate and Wales forward Gareth Bale makes the list, with the Premier League representation made up of three players from Chelsea, one from Manchester City and one from Manchester United.

Of that quintet, though, only two were playing in the Premier League last season. Chelsea pair Thibaut Courtois and Diego Costa were at Atletico Madrid, while Manchester United's Angel di Maria was with Ronaldo at Real. Eden Hazard of Chelsea and Manchester City's Yaya Toure are also nominated.